Chapter II: Welcome to Memory Island Part II
A few minutes have gone by ever since the four friends encountered Leon again. Luigi was once again recovering from another one of his antics because he fell in the water at the dock. As he squeezed the water out from his hat, he glared at the others who were laughing slightly.
"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Luigi said. "Laugh it up you three."
"Lighten up, man," Sora chuckled. "It's not like what happened was life threatening."
"Yes, it was quite funny, Master Luigi," chortled Toadsworth. "You've got to admit it was pretty hilarious."
"One of these days I will have the last laugh!" Luigi said loudly.
"And how many times have you said that?" said Sora rolling his eyes. He then made a serious look "Well, come on guys! We've got to head to Pinna Park!"
"By the way," Luigi began as he put his hat back on. "Are you sure you can handle using this card thing to battle? Why, if they used that kind of combat in a video game I wouldn't buy the game."
"Why do Yoshi sense irony right about now?" Yoshi mumbled to himself.
"Don't worry," Sora smiled with confidence. "I can handle this! I mean, if I play my cards right, we should have no problems. Get it? Cards right?"
Toadsworth narrowed his eyes, "You've been spending too much time with Master Luigi."
"He's only taught me the best." teased Sora.
"Shut up!" Luigi snapped.
"Sora, Luigi, and Toadsworth no have time to play around," Yoshi said panicky. "We go find Leon and others!"
"Right, let's go!" Sora announced.
The four friends headed towards another card shaped door right in front of them. At this point, Sora felt his heart race, knowing Luigi and Yoshi were going to be out of commission again, and only be able to help for a short time. But if he stayed focused, everything would be alright. He also remembered the Ness card he received. Battles would be less of a strain now that more friends were there to help him. The four were about to approach the door and continue on through the town, when they heard a female voice.
"Excuse me?" said a voice. "Do you know where the hotel is?"
The four stopped and turned to see who was addressing them. Their eyes widened in shock upon who they saw, especially Toadsworth who couldn't believe his eyes. He quickly took off his reading glasses and rubbed them on his vest, thinking for a moment he wasn't seeing a ghost. Putting them back on, he noticed a beautiful young girl standing before them. She had long blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, a long pink dress, white gloves, and a golden crown on top of her hair. She held a white umbrella to keep her from getting hit by sun warm heat.
"Princess Peach!" Yoshi cried happily.
"Egad!" Toadsworth exclaimed. "Princess Peach!"
"Oh, so I take it you four have heard of me," realized Peach. "I guess you're wondering what a ruler of a usually peaceful kingdom is doing here."
Toadsworth could not believe his ears on what he was hearing. Heard of her? He practically watched over her as a baby. He watched her grow into a mature young woman, who was solely given the job to look over an entire race of people. At that moment, Toadsworth felt like his entire body came apart from sorrow. He felt so much anger inside of him. That anger was compressed like a volcano ready to blow.
"Wait, don't you know who we are?" Luigi gasped in surprise.
"Sorry, I've never seen you four in my life." Peach responded, slowly shaking her head.
Toadsworth finally shouted out angrily, "Young lady! How dare you pretend to forget the person who has always been there for you! Who watched you grow into a mature young lady? Who took care of you when the Chancellor and your mother were busy? Who read you bedtime stories? Who did everything in his power to keep you safe?"
"Um, that's easy," Peach responded, slightly confused. "My royal steward..." Toadsworth nodded his head, while proudly closing his eyes. "...Philip. T."
Toadsworth got red in the face upon hearing that, "WHAT?"
"Mama-mia!" Luigi cried.
Toadsworth stumbled back with his hand clutching his chest. He could feel a light pain from it, but it was all because of mixed emotions running through his mind. To him the pain felt intense, just from thinking so hardly about everything that was going on. Luigi and Yoshi quickly supported Toadsworth on each side, with Sora worryingly supporting the front of him.
"Oh, no!" Toadsworth moaned. "I'm having a heart attack, sirs! This is the big one!"
"Toadsworth, calm down!" Yoshi said as he held Toadsworth.
Peach, though a bit confused, felt a little bad for her comment.
"Oh, I hope I didn't say anything to upset him." said Peach worryingly.
"He's alright," Sora said calmly. "He sometimes suffers from memory loss. Once he thought he was the one who was suppose to bring piece from machines that enslaved the human race." Peach rose her eyebrow. "Um...never mind."
It took a few seconds, but soon enough, Toadsworth was able to calm himself down. Luigi and Yoshi helped Toadsworth over to a bench, so he could get a chance to catch his breath. Sora turned back to Peach, as he and the others knew that if Leon and Yuffie couldn't remember them, he knew that everyone else he knew would also forget.
"Sorry, we didn't mean to cause a riot." Sora said while rubbing his head
"That's alright, Sora." Peach replied with a smile. She then covered her mouth upon saying that.
Peach felt funny all of a sudden. As if like a lightbulb clicking on, she somehow knew that name. She placed her hand on her head, feeling a little dizzy for a moment like Leon. She shook the feeling off right away though.
"You know his name!" Luigi exclaimed.
"That's very weird," Peach said shaking her head. "I've never met you before, but I somehow know that name."
"Maybe it a coincidence." figured Yoshi.
The trio decided not to alarm anyone else who forgot who they were at the moment. They'd rather figure this out by meeting with Leon and the others. Sora put his hands behind his head, smiling nervously, hoping to change the subject.
"I'm sure Yoshi's right," Sora smiled. "Nothing more than a coincidence. So, you were asking us about something, ma'am?"
Peach gasped upon remembering, "Oh, that's right. I was wondering if you know where the famous Hotel Delfino is. You see I'm meeting a friend of mine there."
"Hm, to get the hotel you have to take the red pipe located near by the lighthouse." Luigi said.
"Oh, thank you," Peach said gratefully. "I'm sure my friend is there right now and I can't keep him waiting."
"No problem," Luigi nodded. "Glad we could help. I just hope your friend isn't an impatience guy."
"Oh, no, he's the kindest person I've ever met," Peach said with a dreamy look in her eyes. "He and I came to the islands on holiday."
"My brother?" Luigi whispered with hope. "Could it really be him?"
"Well, we won't stand in the way and ruin your date," Sora chuckled. Peach lightly blushed at the comment "You see, we have to meet up with a few of our friends, and we can't keep them waiting."
"One of them probably Cid," assumed Yoshi. "And if Sora, Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth don't hurry over there, he going to get mad."
Sora remembered how mad Cid could get with his stormy temper. He gulped nervously, just thinking about getting a red face from him. Peach said her good-byes and turned to leave. Toadsworth was in tears as she said good-bye. He felt heartbroken just to hear her say that she had no clue who he was. He's like a grandfather to her and he just couldn't bare to hear her simply say, "I don't know you."
"Oh, how could this happen?" Toadsworth complained sadly. "I was like a grandfather to her."
"Relax, she's only an illusion, remember?" Luigi reminded him.
"Yes, I understand that, but she still looks so real," Toadsworth responded. "And she still acts like the real person, and hearing that she forgot about me breaks an old man's heart."
"You got a point," nodded Sora in agreement. "She still is very real, though she's just a memory, and just hearing that can make you feel bad. Try not to worry, Toadsworth. Besides, you saw how upset I was when Leon said he forgot about us."
Toadsworth smiled, feeling better from hearing Sora's words.
"You're right, Master Sora," Toadsworth smiled. "Everything will be okay."
"Then let's go!" Sora shouted enthusiastically.
"Help!" shrieked Peach's voice. "Put me down you imposter!"
The four quickly jerked their heads towards the area where Peach walked away. They noticed she was coming at them, while someone had a tight grip around her shoulders with his right arm. As they got closer, Sora noticed what it was that was carrying her was a liquid looking person with a hat on, overalls, and was holding a giant paintbrush in his left hand. Luigi gasped in horror upon seeing the abductor.
"It's that imposter who framed my brother!" Luigi exclaimed. "He's here, too!"
"And that fiend has captured the princess!" Toadsworth added to his horror.
"Help me!" Peach cried. "Sora, Luigi, Yoshi!"
Peach did the best she could to struggle herself free, but the grip was too strong. For a little guy, he sure had a powerful arm. Peach was frightened, as she didn't know what this faker was going to do to her. Sweat poured down her face, she felt like her heart jumped up into her throat. Toadsworth stepped forward, a glare of confidence sparkled in his eyes.
"Illusion or not, I am still sworn to look after her!" Toadsworth cried bravely. "Quickly, masters, we must rescue her!"
Sora drew his keyblade and charged for the imposter. The imposter, known as Shadow Mario noticed Sora quickly charging at him, and giggled evilly upon seeing this. As Sora gave a hard thrust, the imposter, with Peach held tightly, did a front flip over the boy, landing behind him. Sora turned around, they keyblade held in his left hand, and teeth clinched in anger. The imposter stuck his tongue out at the boy and ran for it.
"Luigi, Yoshi, stop him!" Sora called to the duo.
The duo quickly ran at the imposter, who noticed them coming at him. The two ran side by side with each other, running as fast as they could. The moment they got to him, Shadow Mario giggled again and jumped over them, causing the two to bonk heads with each other. They felt their skulls jolt from the rough impact, which also caused them to become light headed. They stumbled around the area, their pupils in their eyes slowly rolling around.
"Ooh, Yoshi see pretty stars." moaned Yoshi.
Toadsworth also tried to stop the imposter, but unfortunately got knocked aside himself by the imposter. Luckily, Toadsworth landed back on the bench, not taking any serious injury. Sora quickly ran over to a dazed Luigi and Yoshi.
"Guys, are you okay?" asked Sora in concern.
"Oh, we're okay," said Luigi in dazed. His voice was a bit slurred because he was still dizzy. "Come on! He went to Mississippi!"
Sora raised an eyebrow in quirk, "Mississippi?"
"Yeah, Sora know...Mississippi," Yoshi said still in a daze. He then began to sing. "M-S-S...I-S-S...M-O-U-S-E."
"Snap out of it guys!" Sora shouted.
Luigi and Yoshi quickly spun their heads around, getting rid of the dizzy feeling in their heads. Luigi quickly shifted his head left and right, finally feeling more alert.
"Hey, where did that brat go?" Luigi asked.
"He heading for funny looking door!" Yoshi pointed.
The trio turned to see Shadow Mario running towards of the strange doors that can only be opened by cards. Toadsworth walked over to the others, huffing and puffing with each breath.
"Huff I say! Huff!" Toadsworth said. "Masters, the perpetrator is trying to leave the premises!"
"Don't worry, Toadsworth," Sora said. "It's in the bag. He can't even get through the door without a..." Sora noticed the imposter opened the door, without even holding a card up and slammed it behind him. "...card. Okay, so almost nobody."
"Hurry up and let's go after them!" Luigi shouted.
The four quickly ran as fast as they could to the door. Upon arrival, Sora held up another red card and it caused the door to open with a white flash. The boy squinted his eyes as he made his way through the brightness of the room. Upon exiting, he arrived at another corner of the island. Sora saw the bell tower at a much closer angle. In front of him he noticed a small white dock that went out to a small round house. The house was colored white with red bamboo on top as the ceiling.
To his right, Sora noticed that the pathway went all the way to the end, where there was water beyond. A little bit further down was another part of the island. These two paths were separate because it was used as a way in and out for boats to enter the docks. Even further down was a have oval shaped red cannon. Sora remembered the cannon from his last adventure. It was a means of transportation to Pinna Park, the same place where he first met Luigi and Yoshi.
As Sora turned around, he saw only Toadsworth present in the party again. The boy knew the others were once again at the mercy of the cards.
"That is still going to take some getting used to." thought Sora with a sigh.
"Let us press on!" Toadsworth announced.
Giving a brave nod, the two heard for the cannon. On the way, the heartless ambushed the two. Sora drew his keyblade and charged at the heartless. He leaped into the air and brought the keyblade down on a shadow, cutting it in two. Sora quickly sidestepped left as he felt another one swat at him from behind. Quickly, he gave a one-hundred and eighty degree turn and slashed it aside. A soldier leaped in front of him and smacked its sharp claw across his face. The boy felt his skin peel and felt pain from the attack.
Sora's feet slid backwards towards the edge of the area. He looked down to see the water and he was about to fall in it. The boy slightly loss balance and began to tilt back, but waved his arms to pull himself back up. As he came up, he ducked under another swipe from a heartless, rolling past it. He landed with one knee on the ground, and turned to see them coming at him. Sora quickly stood back up and slashed his way through the heartless, using both hands, slashing one aside on the left, then one on the right, and then sliding under a leaping one and stick the weapon up to cut it.
Sora also experience the card break, though he won most of them, due to the fact that shadows and soldiers played such weak cards. Another soldier charged at him with a sharp claw out. Sora clashed with the claw, putting full force into the attack. Another one leaped from behind him and slashed at him, with the boy quickly ducking his head to avoid. Sora countered by moving his head back up, ramming it into the heartless' stomach.
He was unaware that the other soldier pushed back on his keyblade, causing the boy to step back and lift it into the air. The heartless slashed at Sora's stomach, sending him sliding back. The boy quickly retaliated forward and slashed the creature aside. More soon came at the boy, who put each blow into his attack, clashing with the claws of the soldiers, and swatting the small shadows away. Quite a few times he had to reshuffle his deck, and he was starting to get tired at a seemingly endless amount of shadows.
Soon, a group of soldiers rammed their heads into his chest, knocking him back next to Toadsworth. Sora felt sweat pour down his face from all the movement. He took slow deep breaths to recover from the exercise he got, feeling the air fill up his lungs. The heartless go closer and closer towards the two, as they slowly walked backwards. It seemed like they were cornered when Sora got an idea.
"Let's see if Ness can give us a hand!" Sora said.
Sora's keyblade began to glow a blue color, with red electricity fizzling slowly around the blade. Soon, a light flashed out from within the blade, releasing a beam of energy onto the ground. The heartless stepped back as they couldn't take that much brightness. Soon, the light dimmed, revealing a young boy. He wore a blue and yellow striped short sleeved shirt, dark blue shorts, and wore a red baseball cap, backwards, which covered his short black hair. He also had a brown backpack on his back.
"Hey, Ness!" Sora said happily. "It's great to see you again!"
The boy looked over at Sora, "Yes, you and I have crossed paths before. I can feel that, but I am simply born from your memories as a summon. In times of need, call on me and I will come to help. That is what the castle has chose me to do."
"Then can you defeat those heartless?" Toadsworth asked with hope.
Ness turned back to the heartless, a slight smirk appearing on his face.
"Ha! No problem!" Ness laughed. "Feel the power of my PK Flash!"
The young boy closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly. He slightly strained, pushing out a warm strong feeling deep inside his body. Sora noticed his body was now outlined with a green glow. Ness continued to push and push until finally, the energy was released from his body. A small green orb appeared right above his head and flew right at the swarm of heartless. As it landed just an inch away from the creatures of darkness, it disappeared, but soon enough the orb bursted into a giant green explosion, knocking all of the heartless back, causing them to obliterate into pieces.
Sora and Toadsworth stood there in shock, amazed at seeing such a little boy display such incredible power.
"Wow, I'm definitely using you the moment I get you back in the deck," Sora said in pure amazement. "Just as powerful as I remember you."
"Thank you," smiled Ness with a blush. "I'll do anything to help you as you journey through Castle Oblivion. Call me if you need me again."
Ness then dematerialized right in front of Sora, turning back into a card, placing itself back on Sora's keychain. The two took the moment to catch their breath now that there were no heartless around. Sora shifted his eyes towards the target, the large red cannon. Now they had to head over there, where they would be able to get onto the island. Sora walked over to the edge of the area, knowing they were going to have to jump over it.
"Come on, Toadsworth," said Sora. "We're going to have to jump over the ledge."
"Excuse me?" Toadsworth said in shock. "We? Do you believe I can jump over that ledge?"
Sora sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Oh, yeah, sorry."
The boy then turned away from Toadsworth and slowly crouched down and placed his hands below his lower back, his palms facing the bottom.
"Hop on my back," offered Sora. "I'll carry you across."
"Oh, dear," Toadsworth said unsure. "Are you sure you can jump over this?"
"Hey, I've jumped off of higher places back on the islands." reassured Sora. "I promise you that we won't fall."
Toadsworth slowly got onto Sora's back and the boy boosted him up, giving him a piggyback ride. Sora needed to get a running start, so he backed up a few feet. Toadsworth closed his eyes, still not a hundred percent sure if they would make it. The boy finally ran towards the ledge, running as fast as he could. Toadsworth fell the warm breeze hit his face from the speed as they ran towards the edge. Sora leaped off and went a few feet into the air. Toadsworth felt the force of gravity pushing him down as Sora began to decent onto the platform.
Sora landed on the edge, just barely making it. The boy sighed with relief because he actually wasn't a hundred percent sure he would make it either. Toadsworth was still holding on tightly to Sora, eyes still shut. Sora looked up at him, eyebrow raised.
"Um, Toadsworth?"
"Tell me when it's over!" Toadsworth said fearfully.
"Um...it's been over, Toadsworth." Sora said.
Toadsworth peaked his eyes open to noticed they were safely on the ground. The elder wiped his forehead, glad that it was over. Sora didn't understand why Toadsworth was so worried anyways. Even if he missed, they would have landed in the water.
"Thank goodness," sighed Toadsworth. "It's a good thing we made it because I can't swim for dear life."
"Oh, so that's why you were nervous." realized Sora.
"Never swam a day in my life I'm afraid," continued Toadsworth. "Simply too busy watching the princess."
"Man, you need to seriously get out more." Sora told Toadsworth.
"Never mind that, Master Sora," Toadsworth shook his head. "Quickly, we must proceed to the cannon!"
Sora nodded and the two continued to the cannon. During the way there Sora had to jump over yet another ledge, once again landing successfully on the other side. Upon reaching the red cannon, more heartless came out of nowhere, ambushing the boy. Sora slashed his way through the group, cutting through them, shredding them into pieces. At one point, Sora accidently played a zero card, which was easily countered by a shadow, causing the boy to become paralyzed for the moment. A soldier knocked him back, sending him sliding across the floor.
Sora also found a Luigi card and called the plumber to help. Luigi used his cure magic to heal Sora, while shooting thunder spells at the heartless, knocking some of them into the air. Sora quickly leaped into the air and slashed it aside with a full swing. Landing on the ground, Sora slashed through some more heartless, swiftly dodging their blows, finally getting better at working with the card system. Sora defeated the last group of heartless. Sora was impressed at the progress he was already making, but he knew he still had ways to go. Walking over to the cannon, Sora and Toadsworth both looked around to see if the clerk would give them admission.
There was no one there. The two wondered how they were going to get over to the park now, when Sora noticed a golden square shaped item sticking out of the cannon. Sora walked over to it, noticing there was a small slot in it. He figured that the golden cards he received when he got the Ness card must open the cannon. Sora inserted the card from his pocket, which caused the top of the cannon to open. Sora and Toadsworth weren't too nervous about entering it as they have done this before, but the cannon wasn't a hundred percent safe.
Entering it, the top of the cannon automatically closed on them, shutting them inside the cannon. The cannon rotated about thirty five degrees, lifted slightly upward, and fired the two out of it. The two went flying across the entire sea, their screams echoing throughout the air. Sora felt like his was being separated from his body from moving so fast. The wind blew roughly in their faces as they went flying pass the crisp, clear water. Soon, the two saw an island coming into view. It appeared to be a giant theme park.
The two began to the decent into the park, flying over many different rides, some of which included; two wooden boats that swung back and forth, a roller coaster that had many different loops and turns, an octopus Ferris wheel that was colored purple, a merry-go-round which had different colored Yoshis instead of horses, and a giant pool of water at the edge of it. Sora and Toadsworth got nervous, as they knew they could injure themselves badly or worse.
At that moment, a flash appeared next to Sora, startling him. The flash quickly subsided, revealing Luigi and Yoshi who were also flying along. Luigi's eyes widened in fear as was falling downward with the others.
"Guys?" Sora asked in surprise. "Where did you come from?"
"The real question here is; how should my face look when it gets flatten by the impact of the ground?" Luigi said in panic. "You just HAD to take the cannon over here. Couldn't you have taken the ferry?"
"Luigi, it was the only way!" snapped Sora. "There was no other option!"
"Never mind that!" screamed Yoshi. "We about to make crash-landing!"
The four screamed as they fell right towards the edge of the island. Right by the edge was a small white house with one floor. It was a very strange house as it and one other house which was a Japanese style house resided on this island. Many of the citizens have noticed this, but payed no attention to it. Inside the white house was where Leon and his friends lived. The living room inside had brown wooden walls. There were many stuck on shelves that had pictures and old antique items.
There were also small, black leather couches around the room. Sitting in the couches were Leon, Yuffie, and another woman. This woman wore a long pink dress that connected to her upper body, and it was sleeveless. She also had brown hair with two splits that dropped down, and had two pony tails in the back. She wore a purple belt around her waist, with two ropes supporting the belt which were located on her side.
Leon and Yuffie told the woman the situation involving Sora and his friends. The woman was baffled by everything she heard. She felt a strange power in the town earlier today, but never expected the power to be something like this. Four strange visitors who claimed to know Leon and the gang.
"So, are they coming here?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, Aerith," Leon responded. "They said that they'd stop by. Hopefully, we can clear this all up."
Aerith placed her hands in her lap, folding them together.
"I hope so too," Aerith said. "I feel like I've heard those names before, but it's hard for me to distinguish if I know them personally or not."
"Us too," Yuffie nodded in agreement. "This is the most freakiest thing that's ever happened!" She then smiled. "Let's just wait. Any moment they're sure to drop in."
At that moment, the adults heard the sound of collapsing and looked up to see dust and ruble drop right in front of them. The three quickly covered their faces as the dust came towards their direction. Sora, Luigi, Yoshi, and Toadsworth have crashed through the ceiling and landed on the ground. The three coughed from the particles and the dust that came from the aftermath of the fall. As they looked up, they saw the group stacked up on top of each other, with Sora at the bottom and Toadsworth on top.
"Okay...I didn't mean literally," Yuffie said. "We have a door you know."
The three residents of the Mushroom Kingdom got off of Sora who stood up, shaking his head to recover from the fall. Luckily, the keyblade protected Sora from rough falls, which also broke the others' fall because they landed on him. Sora weakly stood up and rubbed his head.
"Man, what a fall!" Sora groaned.
"Sora, are you alright?" Leon asked concerned.
"We're fine Leon, but sorry about the house." Sora apologized.
Leon just smiled, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure Cid can fix it up."
"Mama-mia!" Luigi cried. "Can't I ever get one minute of piece without falling through something?"
Yoshi rubbed his nose, "Ooh, Yoshi have booboo nose."
Toadsworth stood up, excited about what just happened. In all his years he has never had that much excitement before with flying through the air.
"I say, that was the most fun I've had in thirty years!" Toadsworth cheers. "After we rescue the princess, shall we do it again?"
"Be my guest, Toadsworth," Luigi said nervously. "As for me, I'm going to make like a drum and beat it. I've had enough pain for one day."
"Stop complaining!" Sora snapped.
"I'm not complaining!" Luigi argued with Sora. "I just don't want any more pain inflictions!"
"Please, calm down everyone!" Leon interrupted. "This isn't something we should worry about. Just try not to use the cannon next time. It is considered a hazard to one's health."
"This kid is a hazard just enough as it is." Luigi said, referring to Sora.
Ignoring Luigi, Sora walked over to Aerith, who was looking over the boy in concern. A depressed look descended upon the boy's face, knowing that she too forgot about him.
"Aerith, please don't tell me you forgot who I am, too." Sora said sadly.
"Well, the problem is I'm debating whether I should be saying nice to meet you or good to see you again," she said unsure. "It feels like a little of both. I've never met you in my life, but something is telling me that I've known you for a long time. It's like you are apart of us."
"Yeah, that's how I feel!" Yuffie agreed. "I've never seen you before, but it doesn't feel weird that I know those names!"
"No!" Sora objected. "Listen, we have met before! I'm a hundred percent positive!"
"Yeah, we've laughed together, we've cried together, we've shared good times with each other." Luigi added.
"We fought heartless together!" Sora continued. "We were a team! Can't you remember?"
Leon crossed his arms, a bit perplexed, "Well, it feels right, but I can't remember."
"Maybe Leon thinking too much?" Yoshi suggested
"This is so freaky." Yuffie said to herself.
"Don't you remember what you told me at Hallow Bastion?" said Sora who was hoping to jolt the man's memory. "Right after I sealed the keyhole you said: 'We may never meet again...'"
"'...but we'll never forget each other." Leon finished.
Leon was even more confused. It's like whenever Sora tried to recall past events, those memories would somehow reminiscence in Leon's mind as well as the others.
"See, you do remember!" Sora exclaimed. "You can't forget something that important, right?"
Yuffie gasped in shock, "Yeah, I do remember you saying that!"
"Well, I guess I can't write that off as a coincidence, then," Leon said. "If you remember it, and I remember it, the something is definitely not right here."
"Unless they can have the power to manipulate minds!" Yuffie abruptly pointed at the group.
Yoshi huffed at Yuffie, "Why, Yoshi never been insulted in whole life! How dare you call Yoshi a mind manipulate!" He then looked at Sora in confusion. "Um, what does mind manipulate mean?"
"Don't worry, Yuffie," Leon said casually. "I don't think they mean any harm. But still...'we may never meet again.'"
"You know," Aerith finally spoke up. "Honestly, I physically don't remember that event happening, but I somehow remember. Maybe it's Sora's heart that is doing the remembering for us."
The four friends were slightly confused. What did she mean by Sora's heart remembering? The heart is an organ that beats on a daily basis. The brain is what does remembering and thinking. So, how could a heart be remembering things? And if it is, why is Sora's heart affect their memories?
"How does that work?" Sora asked in confusion.
"How can it work?" Toadsworth imputed. "That is the mind's job to remember certain aspects of things, not the heart."
"It could be that maybe our hearts hold onto those memories that are dear to us," Aerith theorized. "Though we don't know you, Sora, your heart is full of many memories of us together. Somehow those memories seem to resonate in our hearts, too. Maybe they tell us things we couldn't otherwise know."
"So, are you saying that Sora's memories are somehow affecting ours?" Leon gasped in shock. "How's that physically possible?"
"I can sense a very unique power coming from his memories," Aerith replied. "It seems this affects all of those Sora has encountered before on this island."
Sora wondered if this is what the strange man in the cloak meant by everything being created from the confinement of his memories. Everything was real to them, but Sora thinks the reason they don't remember him is because this world is based on his memories, but just because he remembers people, that doesn't mean the people remember him or the adventures they had together. It was basically like entering a world that was new and old.
"I see...maybe it's like what that guy told me," Sora said. "This town is just an illusion, created from my memories."
"And...there's someone special to you in this town that you're searching for?" Aerith asked.
Sora gasped in surprise. How did she know he was searching for someone?
"How did Aerith know that?" Yoshi said in shock.
"I understand." Sora said with a nod.
"Well, I don't know what's going on around here," said Luigi who was completely lost. "Care to fill me in, Mr. Know-It-All?"
"My memories are not only telling them things about our past adventures, but they're also resonating with their memories, telling them things that are happening right now." Sora explained.
"Seriously?" Luigi asked in amazement. He then made a nervous look. "I just hope my memories don't get involved in this. That guy said everything was based on Sora's memories. I wouldn't want memories of my deepest, darkest, secrets to be exposed."
"So you are searching for someone then?" Aerith asked Sora.
"Yeah, a friend of mine is somewhere on this island...erm...I mean Castle Oblivion." Sora confirmed.
Yuffie tilted her head slightly in confusion.
"Castle Oblivion? What's that? This is an island resort," Yuffie said. "There aren't any castles around here."
"Um, that's not quite what I meant." replied Sora.
Luigi elbowed Sora, which caused him to jerk his head towards the man.
"What?"
Luigi grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him down in the process. The man put his mouth up to the boy's ear and whispered in it.
"Listen, let's not mention that we are really inside a giant castle," Luigi whispered. "We don't want to cause a panic."
"Gotcha." Sora whispered back
"I'm sure you still have a lot of questions that need to be answered, right?" Aerith said.
Sora stood back and nodded.
"Well, we just got here anyways, so we'll probably have a look around town." Sora nodded. He all of a sudden remembered something. "Oh, yeah! Have you guys seen a nut job with a paintbrush by any chance?"
"Yeah, that nut job kidnaped Princess Peach!" Luigi said.
"Hmm...the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom," Leon pondered to himself. "Now that you mention it, I did see a strange water looking human run by here a couple of minutes ago. I didn't see Princess Peach however. Perhaps she is being held hostage elsewhere."
"Oh, yeah!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I saw that thing head into the park!"
Luigi ran over to the door, "Then let's get going!"
Luigi pulled the handle to open the door, but for some reason the door wouldn't open. Luigi noticed that the locks on the door were also unlocked. That left the man in confusion, wondering why the door didn't open, although the door was unlocked. Luigi tried again, putting all his muscle into it. His teeth clenched tightly, sweat began to pour down his face, and he strained hardly.
"Take it easy, Luigi," advised Leon. "You'll pull a muscle!"
Luigi finally lifted his feet up onto the door, pulling with his entire body against the door. He pulled and pulled until finallyhe pulled so hard that he went flying off of the door, flying right at the others who ducked under to dodge him. Luigi then flew into an open room, crashing into something with sounds of glass breaking.
"Oh, no!" Aerith gasped. "I hope he didn't crash into Cid's glass airplane figurines!"
Sora called to the door, "Luigi, are you okay?"
Luigi came out with shattered pieces of glass on his clothes. Luckily none of the glass stabbed the clad dressed plumber in his skin. A few pieces of glass were on his moustache, which he lightly brushed off.He sighed with relief, knowing that the glass didn't harm him.
"Wow! That was close!" Luigi sighed. "What moron in their right mind would leave a glass collections of airplanes on a shelve?"
"Cid." everyone else responded.
Luigi's eyes widened in fear, "What? Oh, no! If Cid finds out about this, he's going to tear me lim from lim! You know how mad he gets!"
Sora gulped, "No kidding."
"But how come the door is denying us an exit?" asked Toadsworth.
Sora walked up to the door and noticed a golden outline around it. He's seen this outline around the two other doors he went into earlier on. It appeared that only a card could open the door, but the boy didn't have another golden card in his pocket.
"We need another card to open this door," Sora grunted. "But I don't know where we're going to find one?"
Aerith then went through her pocket and pulled out a golden card on it labeled "key to truth" on it. She walked over to Sora and showed it to him.
"I found this earlier today," Aerith saidshe held out the card. "I think this might help you."
She handed Sora the card, who made his famous smile upon noticing it.
"Hey, thanks," Sora smiled. "This should help us." He then turned to his group. "Let's go before Cid comes back here."
"Be careful, Sora," warned Leon. "The heartless are still running a muck on the island. But you shouldn't have any problem."
"So, you know I can fight then." grinned Sora.
"Can't say I remember, but I'm starting to believe." said Leon with a slight smile.
The four said their good-byes for now and walked over to the door. Sora took the card and held it up to the door, causing the card to glow a bright white. The door finally opened on its own, revealing a white light. Sora began to understand more about how cards were played out on the field. For each world he visits, he will receive a golden card. He must find the door that matches that color, and upon opening it, he will be involved in a conflict with other fragments of his past.
However, he was a bit nervous, as he didn't know what to expect from entering the door in front of him. He looked back at his friends, knowing that no matter what happens, they will always be by his side to help him. Toadsworth ran into the door first, knowing that this door may lead him to the princess. The others followed right behind him.
Upon exiting, the four friends arrived right in the middle of Pinna Park. They looked in aw at the sights of the many attractions that were around. Surprisingly, no other people were around at the park. This place was one of the most important places Sora remembered. It was where he first met Luigi and Yoshi. He chuckled a little bit at remembering the way he met them. It was like it happened yesterday.
He ran into the hotel, looking for a strong source of energy Leon mentioned. While searching around, he heard two voice scream from above. Looking up, he saw two strange figures plummeting down from the sky, landing on top of him. Together, it was there that Sora learned true strength came from his friends. The trio were an unbeatable force, defeating any opponent that challenged them. They didn't look like much, but the three were a force all on their own. Sora knew in his heart that Luigi and Yoshi gave him the power to defeat any foe.
The four began their search for the imposter, hoping to find the princess and rescue her. Toadsworth worryingly looked left and right.
"Oh, dear," Toadsworth said frantically. "If something happens to her, regardless if she is real or not, I'll never forgive myself."
"Aw, no worry, Toadsworth," rest assured Yoshi. "We find Princess Peach, and make Toadsworth happy again."
"Yeah, she still is a friend," Sora added. "We can't turn our backs on her now."
The four continued to make their way through the park, noticing that nobody else was present at the amusement park, except for one person. He was standing around, his hands on his hips, stretching his back. He wore blue jeans, with gray socks, black shoes, had a short sleeved white tear shirt on, and wore a brown milk bottled shaped pendent around his neck. He also had a pair of goggles rested right on his forehead. He had blonde hair and had a yellow straw hanging out of his mouth. He was an elderly man, not as old as Toadsworth, but still pretty old.
The four walked up to him, he turned around upon hearing the footsteps. Seeing Sora, he gave a smile to the kid.
"Well, well, look what the cat drag in," the man laughed. "If it isn't Sora and his merry crew." All of a sudden Cid shook his head. "Huh? What the heck am I saying? I don't even know who you folks are." Cid then rubbed his head. "This old man can be a little crazy at times, but just lookin' at ya, kid, you have all the right requirements to be a Sora. Spiky hair, baggy pants, overly gigantic feet. Dang boy, are you related to bigfoot?"
Sora just frowned.
"Only kidding with you," the man gave a hearty laugh. "Kid doesn't have a sense of humor in him. But, still, you look like a Sora alright."
"Actually, Cid, that is my name." replied Sora.
"Well, it seems you know my name, too," Cid chuckled. "When you're a popular pilot like me, you're most noticeable in every world out there."
"Hey, does Cid know that Luigi broke his..." Yoshi began.
Luigi quickly covered Yoshi's mouth, "NOOOOO!"
"Uh, what's his problem?" Cid asked in confusion.
"Um...nothing," Sora said nervously. "Yoshi likes to tell embarrassing things sometimes."
"Oh, well I was just on my way out anyways," Cid said. "This here place is so empty, that it makes a ghost town look busy."
"Excuse us, sir?" Toadsworth said. "Have you happen to see a madman with a paintbrush?"
"Or a guy with silver hair?" Sora hopefully asked.
Cid thought about it for a moment, "Well, only thing I've seen around here is those heartless punks. Can't take two steps without running away from those things? But now that you mention it, I did see a wack job running around with a paintbrush. Was holding onto some chick with a pink dress."
The others gasped in excitement. They finally had a lead to rescue Peach.
"Where did they go?" Luigi asked frantically.
"Hold your horses!" snapped Cid. "Give me a second to think! This guy with the paintbrush has been runnin' around here every few minutes. I tell ya, the guy's nuttier than a fruitcake." He then turned to Sora. "And I haven't seen this silver haired friend of your's."
"Oh, right." Sora said sadly.
"Cheer up, Sora," Cid grinned. "I'm sure you'll find this friend. I'll root for ya.." He then turned to leave. "Well, I'm gonna take off. Just watch out for them there heartless. If you value your hide, you'd get out of here."
Cid said good-bye, and walked off. Sora slowly put his head down, feeling upset for not finding Riku. Toadsworth walked over to Sora and smiled.
"Don't be sad, Master Sora," Toadsworth said optimistically. "This is only the first world, and that man mentioned Riku was here in the castle. We should be able to find him if we really work hard."
Sora smiled, "Yeah, you're right! We'll find him!"
Meanwhile, Luigi was scolding Yoshi.
"What are you trying to do? Kill me?" Luigi yelled. "Don't ever tell Cid that I was the one who broke the glass figurines."
"But it always a good idea to admit what you've done," Yoshi pointed out. "It puts Luigi more at ease, making him feel less guilty. Simply hiding it will make Luigi feel more guilty, so he should come clean."
"What?" Luigi gasped in shock. "Kid, If I told Cid that, you'll get a front row seat at my funeral. Have you forgotten how mad that guy can get? Sometimes I think he can get so mad, he'll turn right into the Incredible Hulk."
"That no matter..." Yoshi shook his head. "Luigi should still come clean."
"Look!" Sora pointed.
The four turned to notice Shadow Mario running by them, heading into the heart of the park.
"Quickly, after him!" Toadsworth shouted.
The four quickly ran after the imposter, who ran as fast as he could. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed the four were gaining on him. The imposter panted all the way as they chased him, using his paintbrush to create graffiti like goo that streaked across the ground. The goo had an orange-yellow mixture to it and was lying all over the floor. The four remembered how dangerous the goo was and went around it, not taking their eyes off Shadow Mario.
Finally, the four cornered Shadow Mario at a giant wall. The imposter shifted his eyes left and right, looking for exit, but he noticed Luigi and Yoshi ran to each side to block his path. However, Shadow Mario didn't appeared too worried about the whole thing. Sora called the keyblade to his hand and pointed the blade at it.
"Okay, you!" Sora said heroically. "We got you cornered! Tell us what you did with the princess?"
"Ha!" Shadow Mario laughed. "Like I'd give up that easily to losers like you! I believe it is me who has cornered you!"
"Four to one?" scoffed Luigi. "I think you got it all wrong!"
Shadow Mario snickered, "Hehehe! Do not underestimate my power!"
Shadow Mario held his paintbrush up in the air and began to twirl it around, with whooshing sounds coming out of it. He then turned towards the wall and began to paint on, jumping up and down, using the brush to stroke the wall with the hot graffiti. It didn't take more than thirty seconds to finish the painting. He spun back down and pointed his brush at Sora.
"Let's see you try and deal with my latest masterpiece!" Shadow Mario challenged.
The four looked up and gasped upon what the drawing was. It was a picture of a strange creature that had metal body parts, with no legs, arms, or even a neck. The creature had two metal feet, metal floating claws, a metal chest that was colored purple. On it's chest was a mark of a heart with a cross in it and a floating helmet. Their eyes widened in fear upon seeing it.
"It's Guard Armor!" Luigi exclaimed.
"But why did fake Mario paint it?" Yoshi asked Luigi.
"Isn't it obvious, kid?" Luigi gulped nervously. "He's going to bring that thing to life!"
Indeed, Sora noticed that the painting was starting to move on its own. The claws started to move, the feet began to walk. Soon enough, the painting pushed against the wall, turning into a solid object. It gave off its purple color as it marched out of the portal. Sora drew his keyblade to get ready to fight the giant heartless. Luigi and Yoshi slowly began to back away, already too afraid to fight it. However, they soon were consumed by a white light, turning them back into cards again.
Sora stood ready with his keyblade in hand. Toadsworth hid behind the Yoshi-go-round, so that he would be safe from the battle. Guard Armor was the first giant heartless he faced with Luigi and Yoshi, but now he had to do it alone. But he knew that Luigi and Yoshi would always be there with him, summoned or not.
"Attack!" ordered Shadow Mario.
The heartless charged for Sora with its razor sharp claws. It swatted down at Sora, who rolled out of the way, and quickly got back up on one knee. The moment he did, the heartless swatted at him, in which the boy blocked by putting up his keyblade. The other hand came at Sora, but he ducked under it. Standing back up, Sora ran for the creature, holding the handle tight with both hands. The creature walked forward, its feet pound the ground with its hard metal.
Sora felt the vibration from the hard impact, but kept his balance and leaped at the creature. It threw its fist at him, which the boy blocked again. The other fist came and Sora quickly kicked that one aside. Landing right next to it, he leaped up and brought the keyblade down vertically. However, it quickly rammed its head into Sora's head, knocking him into the air. The boy spun backwards and landed on his feet.
Sora ran forward and charged again. The creature's fists once again threw punches, but Sora blocked them. It continued to punch as Sora blocked, slowly walking back. As the next punch flew at him, Sora leaped over the punch and ran at the creature, slashing at it with a vicious assault. The creature however countered with a swift kick in the jaw, knocking him into the air. Sora felt the pain in his jaw and rubbed it as he landed on the ground.
The creature brought its foot down at Sora, which the boy rolled out of the way to dodge. Quickly, he got to his feet and slashed across its chest, causing a slight cut to appear. The creature angrily smacked Sora aside, causing him to slide across the ground. Standing back up, Sora ran at the armor again, who this time spun its hands around like a saw. Sora quickly bent his back over, just missing the saw like attack. As he pulled himself back up, he charged again at the creature, keyblade ready to strike.
The heartless separated its head from the body and flew at Sora at full speed. Gripping the handles tightly, Sora held the keyblade like a bat and knocked the head back at the body, knocking the chest back into the wall. The feet sent a flying kick at him, with the soles facing up at fifty degree angle. Sora quicky leaped onto the soles, his own feet landing on the feet. Pushing all of his weight against the feet, he was able to tilt them the other way, and then used them to push him off.
Sora flew at the armor's chest and slashed it again, damaging it in the process, cutting through the pieces of metal. Sora continued to slash it until he couldn't attack anymore, thanks to the fact that he ran out of cards. With Sora wide-open, the hands returned and smacked him aside. The boy crashed onto the ground, his back hitting against the rough surface. The hands flew over to him and grabbed his underarm, pulling him up into the air.
He weakly strained against the two metal hands, praying that he could release their grip. Both feet flew at Sora again, ready to deliver a hard blow to his chest. Thinking quickly, Sora held his keyblade up by using his arm and summoned Ness. The young boy appeared right in front of Sora, creating a blue shield to block the attack. Not only that, but the energy was able to knock the two hands off of Sora. Landing, Sora quickly reshuffled his deck to regain his cards. He charged forward again, once again at full power.
The armor threw a punch, which Sora dodge. He then quickly rolled to the right, where the second one punched at him, but he kicked it aside. He then moved his head back, dodging the feet. Quickly standing up, he jumped into the air, ready to attack. The head tried to ram Sora again, but Sora quickly stepped on it, leaping over it. Sora brought his keyblade down on the chest of the armor, but the chest started to spin around like a top.
It then flew into the air and knocked Sora back, with the hands quickly grabbing his arms, and the feet finishing it with a kick to the chest. Sora slid across the floor and ran his head into a pole. Sora grabbed his head, feeling the pain from the hard metal.
"Ah!" Sora yelped. "Man, that smarts!"
Shadow Mario started laughing and made his way towards the octopus Ferris wheel. At the top of the it, in the last cart was Princess Peach, with a rope wrapped all around her chest, her ankles, and a white handkerchief covering her mouth. Meanwhile, Sora quickly stood back and rubbed his head from the pain. Sora needed to think of another way to defeat him. Looking back, Sora remembered that Yoshi was able to eat most of the parts.
Jerking his head left and right, Sora searched for a Yoshi card, but didn't see it, but another card. Sora heard the sound of metal and turned to see the Guard Armor brining its foot down on him. Sora rolled out of the way and ran for the card. As he did, he dodged more swipes from the armor, rolling, dodging, ducking, and jumping over it. He finally grabbed the card, and looked at it. The card was the same greenish color as his friend cards, but the picture was different. It was a picture of a green shaded mushroom.
Sora was perplexed by how to use this card. Turning around, he noticed the armor charging for him again. Thinking quickly, Sora held the card, hoping it will do something. The creature got closer and closer when all of a sudden the colors around Sora inverted into a gray flash that lasted for only a moment. Sora's eyes widened as he noticed that the flash caused the creature to collapse on the ground. The pieces of armor were now separate from each other. Those cards must have been special cards that allowed Sora to weaken the enemy, giving him the chance to attack. Sora ran at the armor and began slashing away at each piece away.
His blade pierced through the metal, slashing it and cutting through it. Sora cut the smaller pieces away first, and then finished off the rest. Soon enough, the armor could not take anymore damage from the weapon of light, and got engulfed in a giant ball of light, disappearing from Sora's sight. The battle was over and won. Sora rubbed his finger under his nose with a smile of victory. Whatever that card was, it sure got him out of that jam.
Sora received a Guard Armor enemy card for defeating it. However, the battle wasn't over yet. He shifted his eyes upward and noticed Shadow Mario was climbing the octopus. The boy quickly ran over to the ride and jumped onto the first card, and shot a fire spell at Shadow Mario. The imposter screamed in surprise and looked down to see him.
"What? How did you defeat my heartless?" Shadow Mario asked in shock.
Sora just made a cocky smile, "You happen to be dealing with a heartless exterminator. And I don't just hunt for heartless, I also take out little runts like you."
"Ha!" Shadow Mario laughed. "Take this!"
Shadow Mario swatted his paintbrush vertically, sending a bubble like creature at Sora. The boy easily swiped it aside, but it exploded into a big splash that covered Sora's face.
"What the..?" Sora exclaimed.
Shadow Mario laughed manically and leaped into the last cart. He got Peach into his arms, holding on tightly, and quickly made a run for it. Sora could hear Peach's muffled screams for help. The doppelganger high into the air, getting away from Sora's grasp. The boy quickly jumped onto the last card and looked to see he was getting away with her. Unfortunately, Sora couldn't even jump that high, nor had any cards that could help him.
"Master Sora!" called Toadsworth. "Hurry!"
Sora then remembered what Leon said about Sleights and how they have special abilities. Sora quickly held the chain of his keyblade up and looked at the cards. Not too sure what to do, Sora began to touch a card labeled nine on it. All of a sudden, it disappeared in a flash. Sora wondered if this was how the Sleights work. He randomly tapped one more nine card, and an eight card, hoping that something was bound to happen.
All of a sudden, Sora's keyblade began to glow a dark red color. He felt a powerful force pull his arm back, and then instantly pull it forward, throwing the keyblade in the process. The keyblade spun at a very fast speed, so fast that it was able to keep up to Shadow Mario. The imposter turned around and gasped in horror to see the keyblade. The blade smacked Shadow Mario in the face, causing him to scream. He then released Peach's grip and she fell towards the ground. Toadsworth started to panic upon seeing her plummet to her doom.
"Oh, no!" Toadsworth screamed in fear. "Master Sora, do something!"
Sora quickly made his way down the ride and ran to Peach as fast as he could. They could both hear Peach's shrieks of terror as she fell. Sora quickly jumped for it and grabbed her in his arms, landing safely on the ground. Toadsworth, at that moment fainted from all the excitement. He removed the handkerchief from her mouth and placed her down. Sora slashed at the ropes, untying the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" Sora asked in concern.
"Yes, I am now," Peach said with a smile. "Thank you, Sora."
The imposter did a cannonball fil onto the ground, landing right in front of the two. Peach gasped in surprise, while Sora got his keyblade ready to protect her. The evil imposter looked up, holding onto his giant paintbrush. He growled angrily at the boy for ruining his plans.
"You big meanie!" he whined. "You ruined my plans! I wanted her all for myself!"
"Give it a rest!" Sora said harshly. He then grinned. "Besides, a little koopa like you should be a good boy, right Jr?"
The imposter giggled lightly, "Ah, that's what your memories tell you, but sometimes all isn't what it appears to be."
"Wh-what are you saying?" Sora asked nervously.
All of a sudden a dark wave clouded over the imposter, completely consuming him into the darkness. The wave soon descended into the ground and disappeared completely. Sora ran over to the spot where Shadow Mario vanished and observed it. What did he mean by "All isn't what it appears to be?" Meanwhile, at the entrance of the park, the same hooded man Sora first met when he entered the castle was standing there, holding a now lifeless Shadow Mario.
His body hung completely down, not moving one inch at all.
"Hm, this puppet wasn't a very good design," said the man. "It didn't have enough power to defeat this boy. Well, better send it back to the scrap heap where it belongs."
The hooded man created a dark portal below and dropped the body into, causing the waves of darkness to eat away at it, sending it into an endless abyss of darkness. A few minutes have passed ever since Sora defeated guard armor. Luigi and Yoshi have returned from card form and the trio helped wake up Toadsworth. Afterwards, Peach walked up to the friends and smiled at them. She was grateful to have her life.
"Thank you, Sora, Luigi, and Yoshi," thanked Peach. "You saved my life!"
"All in a days work." Sora smiled.
"You truly are some of the bravest people I've ever met," continued Peach. "It's funny; I somehow felt like we've known each other for a long time. Also, the moment I met you, I knew I could put my full trust in you. Maybe that's just me."
"Who knows?" Luigi shrugged. "Maybe we have met before and you may have forgot."
"Now then," Peach began. "I'd like to reward you for your efforts. Besides my friend, nobody else off the streets has ever tried to rescue me like you did. So, how about some..."
"...cake?" Luigi finished.
Peach made a startled look, "H-how did you know?"
"Lucky guess." Luigi snickered.
"We'd love some, but we actually have to look for a few friends of ours," Sora rejected the offer. "We're kinda in the middle of a quest to find them, and we really need to get going."
Peach just nodded, "Oh, dear, friends of your's? Well, I give you my full support then. I'm sure you'll find your friends." Peach then noticed the sun was making its decent upon the horizon. "Oh, dear, I have to go. My friend is going to kill me."
"No he won't," Luigi said warmly. "He's an understanding guy. Even when things look grim sometimes, his enthusiasm and carefree attitude can always put a smile on your face."
Peach just smiled, "You're right. Mario will understand."
Toadsworth walked up to Peach and took her hand.
"Oh, princess," Toadsworth said sadly. "I shall think about you night and day. I won't give up hope. I will find away back to you"
"Okay." Peach said slowly with a raised eyebrow.
Yoshi grabbed Toadsworth by the arm and gently pulled him back.
"Come on, Toadsworth," Yoshi said nervously. "Time for medicine."
"Well, good luck and come by the castle and visit sometimes." Peach said as she turned to leave.
The four said good-bye as Peach headed for the exit. They sighed with relief, knowing that the threat was over for now. Toadsworth turned to the group with a smile.
"We did it, masters," Toadsworth cheered. "Excellent job! Now the princess will be okay, and we won't have to worry anymore. It puts an old man's heart at ease."
"Yeah, cause I feel better already," Sora said. He then frowned. "But we didn't find Mr. Mario or Riku here."
"Don't be sad, Sora," Yoshi said warmly. "We find them. They probably elsewhere in castle."
"Yeah, kid," Luigi agreed. "We'll find them faster than pizza dough rising out of an oven."
Sora smiled, feeling much better now, "Thanks guys."
"Well, well, so I was right after all." called a voice.
The four turned to see Yuffie, Aerith, Leon, and Cid approach them. Sora noticed a glum look on Cid's face, but wanted to find out what Leon just meant.
"Hey, guys." Luigi greeted.
"What were you right about?" Sora asked Leon.
"I just watched you defeat that heartless," Leon replied. "You truly are a good fighter, just as I thought you were."
Sora rubbed the back of his head and blushed.
"Heh, thanks for the comment," blushed Sora. He then turned to Cid. "Hey, Cid, why the glum look?"
Cid sighed, "Some dumbbell came by our house and destroyed my perfectly good airplane figurines." He then shouted at them. "IT TOOK ME FIVE DARN YEARS TO COLLECT THEM, AND THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR ALL THAT WORK?" He then pounded his fist into his palm. "When I find the punk who did this, I bend his spine, I crush his head, I'll show him what real pain is like!"
Sora and Yoshi glared nervously at Luigi who literally felt his heart stop. If he ever told Cid that he was the one who broke it, he'd be in for the ride of his life. He could picture it now, "Luigi Mario, 1983-2006, beaten to death by a crazy old man."
However, Yoshi walked over to Luigi and elbowed him. Luigi did feel a sense of guilt and maybe if he explained everything to the retired pilot, he wouldn't get mad.
"Cid, relax," Leon said calmly. "Remember your blood pressure."
"HOW CAN I? BOY, IT TOOK ME MY ENTIRE LIFE TO FIND THEM!" Cid yelled at Leon.
Even the calm, collected Leon backed away in fear from Cid. Yuffie quickly changed the subject.
"So, did you find your friend?" Yuffie asked Sora.
Sora shook his head, "No, I'm not going to find him. He's somewhere else in this castle. I can just feel it."
"SORA!" Luigi shouted. "That kid has a short term memory."
Cid looked at Sora in confusion, "Castle? You tryin' to tell me this here island is inside some humongous castle? Hoo, that's rich!"
"He maybe right, Cid," said Leon. "We may not understand what's going on here, but Sora does. He can see that reality is bigger than just this world."
Sora placed his hands in his pocket, "I wish I was that sure."
Luigi walked up to Cid nervously, ready to confess to him. His heart beat rapidly, his breath became light, his entire body quivered in fear. He nervously approached Cid and cleared his throat.
"Um, Cid?" Luigi began nervously.
"Eh, something wrong their, sonny?" Cid asked Luigi.
"Yeah, um...heheh...I don't know how to tell you this...but..." Luigi stuttered. "I...was...the one who broke your figurines."
Cid gasped in shock upon hearing that, "YOU DID WHAT?"
Yoshi ran to Luigi's defense.
"But he no mean to do it," protested Yoshi. "Luigi too clumsy for own good."
"Yeah, what he said." frantically nodded Luigi in agreement.
For the moment, Cid said nothing, but simply stared at the two with a frown. The two wondered what was going to happen next. All of a sudden, Cid smiled at them. This was something the two never expected.
"Is that all?" Cid laughed. "Dang it, boy! If you didn't mean it, then I forgive ya."
"Really?" Luigi asked hopefully. He then sighed with relief. "Thanks, Cid."
"Hey, I actually have a parting gift for you fellas," Cid grinned. "Leon told me the situation and I thought you could use it. Better run back and get it."
Luigi sighed with relief and turned to Yoshi with a smile.
"Hey, you were right, kid," Luigi said. "I do feel a lot better now."
"See?" Yoshi giggled. "All better. Cid also giving Sora, Luigi, and Yoshi a gift."
"Yeah, and I wonder what it is?" Luigi said intrigued.
Leon walked up to Sora and placed his hands on his shoulders. A warm smile appeared on the man's face as he looked down at the boy.
"Sora, you'll be okay," Leon said. "No matter what shape reality takes, you can handle it. I may not remember you, but I know you in my heart."
Sora closed his eyes sadly, "Leon..."
"Chin up," Leon said. "I believe in you and I can see great things coming from you. You're a remarkable young man, and have a strong will to fight."
"Aw, go on." Sora chuckled.
Cid finally returned with a strange grin across his face. Luigi and Yoshi both noticed him coming and looked a bit startled at what he was holding. It looked like a metal baseball bat. Luigi began to get nervous again upon seeing that.
"Well, here's your present," Cid said. "A five second head start before I take this here bat and..."
"W-wait!" Luigi panicked. "Don't kill me!"
"...throw it to you," Cid concluded. Luigi looked at Cid in confusion. "You look like the kinda guy that likes baseball, so I thought you'd want it."
"Um, thanks..." Luigi said, slightly confused.
Luigi had a funny feeling there was more to this than what meets the eye.
"But...before I do that," Cid said as he held the bat up. "I'm going take this bat and BASH YOU OVER THE HEAD WITH IT!"
Luigi screamed in fear and ran for it while Cid ran after him. Leon and his group stood there with dropped mouths.
"Oh, dear." Aerith gasped.
"Run for it, Luigi!" Yoshi called. "Yoshi help!"
Yoshi ran after to try and stop Cid from acting up. Toadsworth also followed to help out as well. Sora just rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"Some things never change," Sora chuckled. He then turned to Leon. "Cid won't really hurt Luigi, right?"
"No, Cid won't," Leon shook his head. "He'll get tired in a few minutes and come back on his own. It's best not to bother him when he's enraged." He then shook Sora's hand. "Well, take care, Sora."
"And good luck." Yuffie called as she ran back towards the house.
Yuffie and Leon left and head back towards the house. Aerith, however didn't leave and was still around.
"Hey, aren't you going to join Leon and the others?" Sora asked Aerith.
"Well, I've been thinking about something," Aerith began to explain. " I don't have all the answers, but there's something I thought you should know. Your memories created this town, right?"
"That's what the guy who gave me the card told me." Sora confirmed.
"If that's true, then this town is just a figment of your mind," Aerith said. "Which means so are we."
"You can't be a figment!" Sora protested. "Everything is here! It's all real! The island, the theme park, and you guys!"
"But I'm not really me," Aerith explained. "I don't remember things that I should. I sense things I shouldn't be sensing." A serious tone then rose in her voice. "Sora, beware of your memories."
"My...memories?"
"As you continue your journey, you'll cross paths with even more illusions. The shadow of your memory will sometimes deceive you, trying to lead you astray."
"Um, what exactly does that mean?" Sora asked while scratching his head.
"I'm just another illusion, Sora," Aerith said. "The truth is out of my reach."
"Don't say stuff like that," Sora said shaking his head. "That sounds kinda depressing..."
"No! Sora! Please!" Aerith pleaded. "Don't let those illusions try to distract you from what's truly important!"
Sora didn't understand why Aerith was acting so strange. What were all these things she was telling him? Illusions that would distract him? It didn't make sense to him at first, but he simply nodded to her, understanding. He then heard an out of breath voice.
"Hey, kid!" called Luigi. "Let's go! Cid went home, so let's hightail it out of here before he comes back!"
Sora turned to Luigi and nodded, "Okay. Give me a second."
He then turned back to Aerith, "Well, see you later, Aer..."
Sora noticed that Aerith wasn't there. He looked around, wondering where she went. He would have obviously seen her head towards her house. Strangely, she was no where to be seen.
"Aerith?" Sora called.
"What about Aerith?" Yoshi asked in confusion.
"It's weird," Sora said while rubbing his chin. "I was just talking to Aerith, and I turn away for a moment. When I turned back, she vanished. I don't see any trace of her."
Luigi and Yoshi both looked at each other, a bit surprised by what they just heard. Turning back, Luigi looked up at Sora.
"Well...I hate to say it, but Aerith left awhile ago." Luigi said slowly.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, remember?" Yoshi said a bit confused. "She left with Leon and Yuffie, while Cid chased Luigi around."
"As we ran by you, Master Sora, we wondered why you were standing there by yourself," Toadsworth said suspiciously. "Are you feeling okay?"
Sora put his hand on his forehead.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora nodded. He then whispered. "So, this is what she meant..."
Luigi pointed his finger at his temple and then rotated it around, saying that Sora was crazy. Sora noticed this and glared evilly at him.
"I saw that!" snapped Sora.
"Only joking," Luigi chuckled. "Come on, let's find away out of here."
The four made their way towards the exit of the park. As Luigi, Toadsworth, and Yoshi walked out of the door, Sora turned around and looked back at the island. He was still wondering if any more illusions would occur as they continued on. At the same time, he felt heartbroken about leaving the same place where he first met his friends. The place where they became a strong team, and worked together to overcome anything.
Sora let the warm breeze and the smell of the beach air embrace him one last time. He then felt something taking his hand. Looking down, he saw Yoshi who smiled at him. The dinosaur could sense Sora's sadness and did the best he could to make him feel better. Seeing Yoshi smile, he then knew that as long as his friends were happy, he was happy, regardless of everything being an illusion. He picked up Yoshi, and gave him a piggyback ride towards the exit of the theme park, laughing at all the good times they had together on the island where it all began.